Autodesk slumps after job-cut announcement; Apple sends out a fix

An Autodesk office in San Francisco. The San Rafael-based design-software company said Wednesday that it will cut 1,150 jobs, or about 13 percent of its workforce, as it moves to put more focus on subscription-based software products.

Pack Up Your Desks: Investors couldn’t rid themselves of Autodesk stock fast enough Wednesday, as they sent the San Rafael-based design-automation software company’s shares down almost 16 percent to close at $109.34.

What led the Autodesk retreat was the company saying late Tuesday that it will cut 1,150 jobs, or about 13 percent of its workforce of approximately 9,000 employees. Such job cuts can often be seen as a sign of trouble at a company when it is attempting to refocus on new priorities.

Autodesk said in a statement that the job cuts were part of a restructuring of the company to focus more on subscription-based software and services in which customers pay regular, recurring fees for their products. This kind of move has become commonplace in the business-software industry as many companies are turning to cloud-based offerings to reduce costs for their customers while ensuring a continuous stream of revenue for themselves.

Much of Autodesk’s software is used by architecture firms, and in the construction and manufacturing industries. The company said its restructuring would help to “streamline the organization and re-balance resources to better align with the company’s priorities.”

Is it the iFix?:Apple rushed out a security update to its MacOS operating system on Wednesday to fix a major security flaw that could have left people’s computers exposed to outside hackers. The flaw, which affected Apple’s new High Sierra operating system, would have allowed anyone to gain administrator control of a Mac by entering “root” for username, not entering a password, and then clicking on the login button until being allowed into the computer. Apple said it was sending the fix out to High Sierra users and the matter would be resolved by late Wednesday.

Oh. Maybe That’s Why: When Android founder Andy Rubin left Google in 2014, it was a blow to the company. At the time, Google Chief Executive Larry Page was magnanimous, though, saying he wished Rubin, “all the best with what’s next.” One of the things that turned out to be “next” for Rubin was smartphone maker Essential. Well, now Rubin is on leave from Essential due to what the company called “personal matters.” And, if a new report is to believed, Rubin left Google three years ago due to an allegedly inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate at the company. A spokesman for Rubin denied Rubin did anything wrong.